Lagos Developers With 14 Flats Collect Rents From Over 100 Prospective Tenants, Disappear
- Some Lagosians have been defrauded by some developers in what can be described as a housing scam
- The alleged criminals involved in the crime have been identified as Oluwasegun Adewara, and one Okeowo
- They were accused of collecting money from over 100 prospective tenants despite the fact that they only have 14 rooms
Some Lagosians have once again fallen victims of housing scam in Lagos. The two alleged developers involved in the fraud have been identified as Oluwasegun Adewara, and one Okeowo.
They have reportedly gone into hiding after allegedly defrauding many prospective tenants over a property at 16, Zamba Street, Lawason,, in the Surulere area of Lagos state, Punch Newspaper reports.
The prospective tenants which are believed to be over 100 were said to have made payments to the developers after inspecting the house which was under construction.
Source: UGC
The newspaper reports that the suspects issued receipts to the victims and set aside separate dates for them to take ownership of the apartments. However, things took another turn when the people got to the house on the specified dates given by the developers but discovered that the number of prospective tenants outnumbered the apartments in the one-storey building.
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A victim was quoted to have said:
“I never knew that last Thursday and Friday, people had come around to fight them to access their apartments. I quickly rushed down on Friday and noticed that there were hoodlums around asking people to pay N100,000 so they could break down the padlocks used in locking some of the doors so they could have access to the apartments.
“The developers are nowhere to be found and we have yet to hear from the owners of the land and their lawyers. Over 120 people paid for the 14 flats in this building and more people are still coming. The money people paid will be about N60m because some people made advance payments for five years. They also gave us receipts. The matter was reported at the Itire Police Station.”
Another victim, Jenifer Ihemeje, added:
“I paid N650,000 in April to Mr Okeowo and others, but they kept postponing till June 14, 2022, when I sent a text message to threaten them. It was another person who also paid for a flat that informed me that about 10 people paid for a single flat.
“The person said a lot of people gathered at the house on Friday over the incident. So, I rushed down there on Saturday and met people crying, shouting and some people even fainted.”
Meanwhile, a viral tweet by a Nigerian lawyer concerning how landlords can increase rent has upset the apple cart. The lawyer identified with the handle @Egi_nupe_ tweeted that a landlord cannot increase rent without first agreeing with the tenant.
Sharing his tweet, the lawyer wrote:
"Your landlord cannot unilaterally increase rent, both of you must agree. If he insists, tell him to serve quit notice. After the expiration, only a court order can eject you from the property."
Tweet generates arguments
His tweet has attracted massive comments from Nigerians, many of whom say it may be hard to deal with Nigerian landlords in such a manner.
Many of those who reacted shared their experiences with their own landlords.
Source: Legit.ng
